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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Thoughts on Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS

This
spring I read Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS, discussed it in the Chautauqua
New Orleans Shakespeare class taught by the knowledgeable and engaging
Ted Cotton (Professor Emeritus of English at Loyola University New
Orleans), watched the 1984 BBC film of the play, and just last week saw
the very recent Ralph Fiennes film CORIOLANUS at Chalmette Cinema. Ralph
Fiennes directs and stars in CORIOLANUS, set in a World War II version
of Rome.

This
post will give a brief overview of Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS, praise
Vanessa Redgrave's role as Coriolanus' mother in the Ralph Fiennes film,
and discuss some of my thoughts about the play.

OVERVIEW

CORIOLANUS
is the story of a Roman military officer, Caius Martius, who receives
the additional name of honor, Coriolanus, as a result of his amazing
nearly single-handed victory over the Volscian city of Corioli. He thus
becomes Caius Martius Coriolanus. Coriolanus is a very one-sided
individual: he has extraordinary war skills but no political or people
skills. As a result of his military victory in Corioli, Coriolanus is
called by the Roman Senate to be consul, but he berates the common
people, whose voices he also needs for election as consul, and his
inability to connect with the common men and women ultimately leads to a
sentence of exile from Rome.

Upon leaving Rome, shouting out to the multitude of Romans, "I banish you!"
(Act III, Scene 3, Line 124) and "There is a world elsewhere" (Act III,
Scene 3, Line 136), Coriolanus makes his way to the Volscian city of
Antium, where he allies himself with his former arch-enemy, the Volscian
military commander Tullus Aufidius, against Rome. The plea of
Coriolanus' mother, Volumnia, moves Coriolanus to convince Aufidius to
spare Rome, but Aufidius then kills Coriolanus as a traitor.

VANESSA REDGRAVE

In
the Ralph Fiennes film, Vanessa Redgrave plays Volumnia, the mother of
Coriolanus. Vanessa Redgrave is superb in this role. She conveys
Volumnia's devotion to Rome, her deep pride in her son and his military
prowess, her sorrowful dignity as her son so unnecessarily undoes
himself with his anger against the common people, and her utter
willingness to humble herself before her son and beg that he spare Rome.
The lengthy but powerful scene where Vanessa Redgrave as Volumnia
pleads for Rome before Coriolanus is extraordinary.

THOUGHTS ON CORIOLANUS

In
this section, I will write about thoughts that have struck me in
reading, discussing, and seeing CORIOLANUS. I will focus on the fact
that the main characters in the play glorify war. Shakespeare himself,
however, does not glorify war. I would say that Shakespeare shows the
consequences of warrior glorification run amok.

RIGIDITY. Coriolanus
is extraordinarily one-sided. He seems to have one set of emotions:
variations on anger. He displays hate for his arch-enemy Tullus
Aufidius, focused destructive intent against the Vocsians, contempt for
the common people, scorn for his mother's urging of moderation, rage at
accusations of traitor, coldness against the pleas of his closest
friends for Rome to be spared. He seems incapable of accessing any
variations of fear, sadness, or happiness. He also seems incapable of
entertaining any point of view other than his own.

This
rigidity undoes Coriolanus. To me, this is a principal insight to be
gained from the play: rigidity leads to down-fall, in one way or
another. For Coriolanus, it led to exile and then to death. I have seen
rigidity lead to bitterness on the part of sons and daughters toward
their parents. I have also seen rigidity lead to a narrowing of life's
possibilities, to an inability to experience the fullness and richness
of life.

Yes,
there are times when one has to stand firm in doing what one believes
to be right. But this can be done while also showing understanding of
other points of view.

GLORIFICATION OF WAR RUN AMOK: Here are some ways that we see the glorification of war in CORIOLANUS.

Volumnia
rejoices in her son's military exploits, whether he returns alive or
dead, as long as he performs valiantly. (Act I, Scene 3, Lines 21-25)

Volumnia
is pround to see her grandson, the young son of Coriolanus, scorn his
studies and favor the sword and drum. (Act I, Scene 3, Lines 55-66)

To
me, this is glorification of war run amok. This is abject worship of
Mars to the exclusion of all other deities or archetypes. This is the
shadow side of the warrior: to glorify killing, to scorn the exploits of
the mind, to rejoice in battle wounds.

Unfortunately, our planet, generally, has been in the grip of this Mars obsession for several millennia.

EROTICISM OF WAR. For
the person obsessed with war, even the erotic becomes war-drenched.
Here is what Tullus Aufidius says when his arch-enemy Caius Martius
comes to join his side: "Know thou first, / I loved the maid I married;
never man / Sighed truer breath. But that I see thee here, / Thou noble
thing, more dances my rapt heart / Than when I first my wedded mistress
saw / Bestride my threshold" (Act IV, Scene 5, Lines 117-122).

Unfortunately,
it seems that war and killing, especially in hand-to-hand combat, can
be exhilarating. It can produce a real high.

OVERALL. Of
course, there are other themes in Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS besides the
ones I have mentioned here, but these are the ones that stand out to me.